Week 15: Happy Christmas!

Our final week of the term promises to be a busy and exciting time!
On Monday we will have an early lunch so that everyone is ready for the afternoon performance of 'Olivia' at 1.45pm.
On Tuesday morning the recorder group and choir will be singing at The Acres at 10am, and at 2pm we will be helping to make the Christingles for the Christingle Service to be held at church at 9.30am on Wednesday morning. The  Tuesday evening performance of 'Olivia' starts at 6.30pm- you need to be at school by 6pm to get changed into costumes etc.
You are invited to bring in a change of clothes for the KS2 party on Wednesday afternoon.
We have our school Christmas lunch on Thursday and the term will end with the Carol Service at 9.15 on Friday morning followed by saying our goodbyes to Mr Wainwright.

Week 14: A Victorian Christmas

Only 4 days now until our Dress Rehearsal on Friday morning- please remember to bring your costume into school in a bag marked clearly with your name. You also need to check that your family and friends have bought their tickets for the play performances on Monday 17th December at 1.45pm  and Tuesday 18th December at 6.30pm. 
Remember to get lots of sleep and keep working hard at learning your lines and the words of the songs.

Week 13: Beginning of Advent

Only 3 weeks until the end of term and still so much to do!
I hope you have all been learning your lines and the words of the songs for our busy play rehearsals schedule this week.
Mr Wainwright has asked me to remind the Year 6 children to return their Energy Monitors to school on Tuesday.Our last Gold Book Assembly for this term will be on Friday.
Don't forget that you can post your Christmas cards in school as from Monday- please remember to add your names to the Christmas post box rota in the classroom.
Have a go at this Boggle Challenge- can you beat the teacher?
                              t---n
                    w---e
                    j---g
                    l---s
Add your total score to the Blog and we will look at your 'Wow Words' on Friday.

Week 12: Enterprise Week

Hello everyone!
Thank you for all your kind wishes and your beautiful card! It made me smile-  and you know that I would much sooner be at school with you, especially at this busy time of year. Work hard at learning your lines for the play and the words of the songs, and I will be back as soon as I possibly can.
Be good for Mrs Lockwood, and help Mrs Humphreys and Mrs Trevarthen make some festive decorations that can be sold at the Christmas Fayre on Friday.
See you all soon.

Victorian Dance

 

Please click on our Victorian Dance video above.  We were inspired by the Industrial Revolution from the Olympics Opening Ceremony.  Look at our brilliant impressions of Isambard Kingdom Brunel.  We hope you enjoy Mrs. Green!

Well done in Maths today too.  Who can define what parallel and perpendicular lines are?  What is the odd one out and why from:  42,  24,  63?

 

Mr. Wainwright

Week 11: What jobs did children do in Victorian times?

Thinking back to our 'Horrible Histories' theatre visit last week, what did you learn about the different jobs that children often had to do?
Powerdown Fortnight continues this week with an assembly presentation and an Energy workshop on Monday. This week is also Friendship Week- how can you be a good friend to others? Special certificates will be handed out during the week to those children demonstrating the value of friendship.
Some children will be taking the Primary Maths Challenge on Tuesday and our Maths team will be competing in the 2nd Round of the Maths Awards at Peterborough.
Friday will be Powerdown Blackout Day... it really will be like going back to Victorian times!

And finally...yes, we will be looking at the playscript for the Christmas Play, so practise your speaking and singing voices ready for the auditions.

Week 10: Helping the Poor and Homeless

This week we will be learning about the dreadful living conditions for the poor and homeless in Victorian times.
Parents' Evenings are on Monday and Tuesday evenings. On Wednesday a group of Y6 children will be attending a Technology day at Arthur Mellows Village College and the netballers will be playing against Peterborough High School during the afternoon. Thursday is our visit to see Horrible Histories- Vile Victorians in Nottingham- please remember to return your permission slips.
For a small donation you can come to school 'wearing spots' on Children in Need day on Friday.
I have been really impressed with your talks so far- well done! What interesting information have you learnt from the talks? Are there any questions you would like to ask anyone about their talk? 

Week 9: What would it have been like for a servant in Burghley House in Victorian times?

Welcome back to the Blog after a wonderful half-term break. I hope you all enjoyed your holiday and are ready for a busy run up to Christmas. Perhaps you have been planning your talks and are ready to add your name to the Talks Timetable?
This week we will be following up our visit to Burghley and making comparisons between life then and now.
On Wednesday, a group of children will be representing the school at the Maths Awards in Peterborough.

Week 8: Harvest Celebrations

Thank you to all the Year 6 children who acted as tour guides for our visitors to school on Thursday. I had very good reports on both your enthusiasm and behaviour- well done!
 This week our harvest celebrations start with the Harvest service in Church on Tuesday morning. Please remember to bring a coat in case of cold/ wet weather.
Wednesday is non-uniform 'Wear your Wellies ' to school day for a donation to the Farm Africa charity. Hopefully we will go outside for a Welly Wanging competition during the afternoon.
On Thursday the Year 6 children have been invited to Burghley House for a Victorian day.
After the Harvest assembly in school on Friday welly biscuits will be on sale for 20p, and we will round the week off with a Reward Time class disco on Friday morning.

Thank you Mr Graham for coming in to talk to us about the Great Exhibition

Week 7: Victorian buildings

Well done everyone! I was very proud of your attentiveness and behaviour when Mr Graham came in on Friday to tell us all about the Great Exhibition.
This week we are going to continue working on our Victorian street scene- what will your house look like? What specific Victorian features will it have?
Our class representatives on the School Council will be leading the assembly on Monday and telling the school about our Harvest Collection. Some of the Year 6 children will also be showing visitors and parents around on Thursday at our Open Morning.
Please remember to use this Blog to share your ideas and learning...

Week 6: How did transport change in Victorian times?

A painting to make you think... Where do you think it might be? Who can you see in the painting? Where are they going? How are they feeling?

We have another busy week ahead of us. You will need your outdoor PE kit for Wednesday when we attend the Basketball Tournament at AMVC. On Friday, a special visitor is coming into the class to talk to us about The Great Exhibition.

Week 5: Victorian transport

How did transport change in Victorian times? How did it affect the lives of the Victorians?

I hope you have all been practising your 'times tables'. This week you will all be given a mental arithmetic work book to be completed each week and returned to school on Friday along with your homework. Click here to try out a game to help you practise your tables.

Week 4: Victorian Biography

Who is this famous Victorian? What did he do? What is he remembered for?
This week we will be continuing to research information on famous Victorians in order to write a biography.
Please remember your PE kit and trainers for both Wednesday and Friday this week. There will also be a football match against John Clare after school on Wednesday.

Week 3: 'Old Money'

If you were a child in the Victorian period there were no calculators to help you with your calculations, so you had to count in your head or on your fingers. The coins that you used would be very different- remember the penny and half penny coins that we looked at in the 'Mystery Topic Box'?
Use these key facts to help you solve the following problems- 

                 There are 4 farthings in a penny.
                 There are 12 pennies in a shilling.
                 There are 20 shillings in a pound.
                 There are 21 shillings in a guinea.

How many pennies make 1 shilling and 7pence (1s 7d)?

How many halfpennies make 3 shillings and 6 pence half penny (3s 6 1/2 d)?

Now a tricky one!

How many pennies in 3 pounds 7 shillings and 6 pence (£3 7s 6d)?

 

Add some more problems to the Blog for the class to try to answer.

Week 2: Who stole the jewels?

What an amazing response to the Blog last week- thank you for all your comments! Perhaps those of you who didn't manage to do it, could try to add a comment this week? Remember, you can use the computers at school at break times.

After considering all the evidence, who do you think took Lady Agnes' diamond necklace? Who are the main suspects? What will Sherlock Holmes say?
Who was Sherlock Holmes and where did he live?

Autumn Term 2012- Week 1

Welcome to our Blog for the new school year!

We hope that you have all had a wonderful Summer break and are ready for an exciting term ahead. We are interested to know what you have all been doing during the holidays- tell us about it on the Blog.

Don’t forget to write in accurately punctuated sentences!

Week 13: Arts' Week

Please remember to bring your PE kit for our Dance sessions this week. You also need to wear clothes suitable for painting and messy work!
Make a million....
Has anyone made a million yet?
Look back to last week's post to see Jack's strategic thinking on how he has tackled the problem.

You will also need a strong plastic bag in school on Thursday to take your books and work home in.

Week 12: Greek Theatre

What information can you find out about Greek theatre to add to your Legacy of the Greeks power point?
Are you ready for a Maths Challenge? Follow these instructions and try to make a spiral- bring it into the classroom and teach the rest of the class.http://nrich.maths.org/8294

Week 11: The Legacy of the Greeks

What did the Greeks do for us? What evidence can we see of the Ancient Greek culture today?
Don't forget to remind your parents about our Open Afternoon on Tuesday.
Kings' School and AMVC children will be visiting their new school on Wednesday and we will be having a move- through session at Barnack before playtime.
Soke Athletics and the Regional Netball Finals are both on Thursday and our last swimming session is on Friday.
Still lots to do before the end of term!

Week 10: Olympic celebrations

Are you all ready for our special Olympics celebration tomorrow? Remember- you can come dressed in the colours of your team's country.
What do you know about the original Olympic games that started in Greece? Add some interesting Did you know...facts to our Blog.

Another busy week!
On Tuesday we will be visiting the Mosque in Peterborough and Year 6 children will be meeting up with last year's leavers during the afternoon. What questions would you like to ask them?
On Wednesday afternoon the Girls' Kwik Cricket team are playing in the County final in Peterborough- go Barnack!

Week 9: Preparing for the Olympics

This week is a very 'sporty' week. Kwik Cricket tournaments are on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons so keep practising! On Thursday afternoon we will be preparing for our special Olympics Day next Monday. Tuck shop starts on Thursday - don't forget to bring in 20p if you would like to buy a healthy snack.
Have you found any 'Perfect Numbers' yet?

A Maths Puzzle to make you think...
Complete the calculations using the numbers 1 to 8

Week 8:Ancient Greek scholars

Hello everyone! I hope you have had a fantastic half- term break and are ready for our final 6 weeks of this school year.
The diary is packed with exciting and interesting things to do- Church Schools' Day is on Tuesday at Peterborough Cathedral, Cricket coaching is on Wednesday to pick the teams for the Kwik Cricket Tournaments and SRE sessions also start this week.
Does anyone recognise this famous ancient Greek scholar? What was he famous for?   

Week 7: Jubilee and Sports' Day preparations

I hope the sun continues to shine for our final week before half term- please remember sun hats and water bottles!
We need to sort out our entrants and novelty races for Sports' Day on Thursday and the girls have a football game against North Luffenham on Tuesday after school.
On Friday morning there will be a whole school photo so everyone needs to look neat and tidy!
This week is also the build up to the Royal Jubilee celebrations- what would you do if you could be King or Queen for a day?

Week 6: Where did the Ancient Greeks worship?

Well done everyone with your tests last week! I know that you all showed great determination and worked very hard.
Hopefully this week we will get back to our 'normal' weekly routine. You need your outdoor PE kit in school every day; it is National Cricket Day on Tuesday and we will be practising for Sports Day on Wednesday.
Our friends from Ravensthorpe Primary School have started to add comments on our shared Blog- please find time to reply to them and add your own comments.

Why not try this Maths Puzzle?

Week 5: Year 5 and Year 6 Test Week

Well done to all the runners who took part in the Barnack Fun Run on Saturday. The sun shone and Mrs Dunn reported much better times for the events than last year.  

Reminders for this week- you need to make sure that you get to bed on time this week (no late nights!) so that you are wide awake for Test Week. You will also need your water bottle in the classroom each day.

As Sports’ Day is fast approaching, you need your outdoor PE kit in school every day so that we can go out and practise at every opportunity.

Week 4: Storytelling linked to War with Troy

Well done everybody- the May Day assembly was brilliant! Your dancing was very impressive and I was so proud of every single one of you.
This week we will be continuing with our storytelling sessions based on War with Troy, and you will have an opportunity to try out your own storytelling skills.
We will be having visitors from both BGS and AMVC to speak to the Year 6 children about their new schools. Swimming is on Friday this week and we need to start to prepare for Sports' Day.
A Maths puzzle for you to try-

Make the number in the centre of the target board in the least number of hits. Tell us on the Blog how many you can do it in, but don't give away your answer.

Week 3: Myths and Legends

Last week seemed unusually quiet on the Blog- perhaps you were too busy with Bikeability and attending the Poetry workshop? Well done Year 6 cyclists; the trainers were very impressed with your behaviour and positive attitude throughout the course.
This week we will be continuing to learn about Greek myths and legends and finding out about famous Greeks eg Homer. (No, not Homer Simpson!) Who was he ? What do we know about him? What is he famous for?
The new music for Maypole dancing has finally arrived so we will be testing it out before our May Day assembly on Friday. Congratulations to our May King and Queen, Callum and Annina!

Don't forget to leave a comment on our shared Blog with Ravensthorpe School.

Summer Term Week 2: Bikeability and a Special Visitor

Welcome back to the Summer Term!

How many days till the Olympics? How many days left at Barnack School for our Year 6 children?

We will be having a special visitor in school on Monday to start off this term’s topic. Some children will be representing Barnack School at a Poetry Workshop at John Clare Cottage in Helpston and the Year 6 children have their Bikeability sessions this week. Don’t forget your bicycles, helmets and raincoats!

Thinking Things Through Challenge

Remember the work we were doing on Friday? Now try this- calculate approximately how much of your life you have spent in the bath or having a shower. Remember to round numbers, to explain your reasoning and to record each step clearly and systematically.

Happy Easter!

What a busy and exciting Spring term we have had! Have an enjoyable Easter break and keep in touch via the Blog.

Holiday Homework-
Write a postcard to the class telling us about all the exciting things that you have been doing, and the interesting places you have visited.

Week 12: Preparations for Easter

In this our final week of term there will be an Easter service in Church on Tuesday morning. It is another busy sporting week with football and netball games and a cricket coaching session for the girls. The week ends with a Topic Celebration assembly on Friday morning.

'Travel a Mile for Sport Relief' update-

...and they're ready for off!
...interesting ways of travelling?

...practising ball skills...
...and last over the line!

I wonder how much we raised for Sport Relief?

Week 11: Sport Relief 2012

Well done to our footballers and netballers last week!
This week we will be holding our Moon Buggy race on Wednesday afternoon so can you meet the deadline? Will your moon buggy be ready?
Have some Maths fun and try out this interactive game. Try it again and try to beat your score.

Week 10: Moon Buggy Week

Do you think your moon buggies will look like this one in the picture when they are finished?
This week you will be continuing to build your models ready for the Moon Buggy challenge.
There is a football game against Helpston on Tuesday and Soke football and netball games on Thursday afternoon.
Don't forget to try to add a comment on our shared Blog with Ravensthorpe school. Tell them what our school is like and ask them any questions about their school.

Should we look for life in space? What do you think? What do you know about different forms of space travel?

Week 9: World Maths Day

This week we will be celebrating World Maths Day on Wednesday.

Try out this Maths puzzle and add any possible solutions with an explanation of your strategies to our Blog.

How many solutions can you find to this number puzzle? Each of the different letters stands for a different number.

		T	W	O
+		T	W	O
--	--	--	--	--
	F	O	U	R

Another busy week ahead!

On Monday afternoon there is the Safety Challenge where you will learn all about water, rail and road safety as well as safety in the home. On Thursday a visitor from the Wood Green Centre will be taking our assembly and there is a football match against Glinton after school on Wednesday. If anyone is able to help with transport, please let Mr Wainwright know as soon as possible.

Don’t forget to try to add a comment to our shared Blog with Ravensthorpe School.

Week 8: Is there life on Mars?

What do you think? Add your ideas to our Blog.

A few reminders for the coming week-

Parents’ Evenings on Monday and Tuesday

World Book Day on Thursday- bring in a favourite picture book to share with the younger children and receive your World Book Day Book Token

Friday- National Sing Up Day

Don’t forget to work on your design for the Jubilee Celebrations programme cover- Mr Wainwright has extended the deadline so that you can all have a go!

Week 7: Pancake Races and the beginning of Lent

I hope you have all had a great half term break!

This week we will be holding our annual Pancake Races on Tuesday so don’t forget your frying pans. The Ash Wednesday service at Church starts at 9.30am and at the end of the day, the Marie Curie Pots of Care daffodils will be on sale outside the classroom.

Parents’ Evenings will be held next week so please remember to bring in your reply slip as soon as possible.

Let’s start this half-term with a Maths Puzzle- you will need to check that you know your square numbers before you start.

Mrs Green pinned numbers onto the backs of three children: Matthew, Ben and Joshua.

Now", she said, "Those three numbers add to a special kind of number. What is it?"

Madeleine put her hand up.

"It's a square number", she answered.

"Correct", smiled Mrs Green.

"Oh!" exclaimed Matthew, "The two numbers I can see also add to a square!"

"And me!" called out Ben, "The two numbers I can see add to a square too!"

"Oh dear", said Joshua disappointedly, "the two numbers I can see don't add to a square! It's either 5 too little or 6 too big!"

What numbers did the three children have on their backs?

Can you solve the puzzle? Any correct answers handed to me (with an explanation of your method) will earn a reward point.

Week 6: Astrotours Planet Promotions

This week you will be continuing your research on the different planets to help you put together your planet presentations. What does your planet look like? How will you recreate it using collage techniques?

On Thursday we are welcoming some special visitors to celebrate the school’s 60^th Birthday. The year 6 children will be showing our guests around the school and the Year 5 children will be helping Mrs Humphreys make cakes and biscuits for the celebration.

What questions would you like to ask our visitors? How has Barnack school changed over the last 60 years?

Week 5: Rockets!

Following your visit to the Space Centre last week, you will be designing and making your own rocket so don ’t forget to bring in an empty 2 litre bottle.

We will also be continuing to use calculators to solve number puzzles.

Click on this activity to help you to find all the prime numbers less than 100.

Now try to solve this puzzle-

Can you make any square number by adding two prime numbers together?

eg. 4 = 2 + 2

      9 = 2 + 7

     16 = 5 + 11

So far so good! But can you carry on?

Week 4: Space Centre Visit

We have another busy week ahead of us!

 Please remember to bring in your permission slip and be prepared for an early start on Tuesday morning when we visit the National Space Centre at Leicester. You will need to be in school by 8.30am ready for a prompt departure. We will go through all the arrangements tomorrow at school.

There is a School Council Meeting on Thursday so the class representatives need to organise a time to go through the Minutes of the last meeting and collect ideas to take to the next meeting.

This week we will be investigating all the Planets- in music, art and ICT- and of course on our visit on Tuesday.   

Week 3: Earth, Sun and Moon

Over the next term, many of you will be invited to represent Barnack School at various events. Jack and Cara attended the BETT Show in London on Friday to ‘try out’ new ICT resources for school, and they will be sharing some of their finds with you this week.

Year 4, 5 and 6 Booster sessions start on Tuesday afternoon and Callum and Elise will be attending a Writers’ Workshop in Peterborough on Thursday.

You started the ‘Lost in Space’ topic really well last week with your ideas about the Earth, Sun and Moon. What do you know about their relative sizes and how they move?

Add your information to our Blog and check all the comments that are added.    

Week 2: Lost in Space

Well done to everyone who has shared their 'New Year Resolution' on our Blog. If you haven't managed to post your ideas, why not spend a few minutes at lunchtime logging onto the computers at school? I was very impressed on Friday with your creativity and Wonderful Writing about what our topic countdown could be- I will be choosing some of your work to go on the 'Countdown Board' in the library.
The new term is really starting with a bang, with a pantomime on Monday morning. Reading Buddy sessions start on Tuesday and the first School Council meeting for the new class representatives will be on Thursday.
Have a go at this Thinking Things Through investigation- you might need to do some Science research first.
If it takes a rocket 2 days and 6 hours to travel 1 million kilometres, investigate how long it would take you to travel to other planets in the solar system.